Ebro reports 7 dog deaths in 7 months // DOCUMENT, VIDEO

Published: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 08:25 PM.

“It’s just about transparency,” he said. “It’s a basic level of transparency.”

Only two states in the country aren’t requiring greyhound injury reporting — Alabama and Florida. And anytime a state shares an exclusive list with Alabama it’s “generally not good,” Theil said.

He applauded the existing death reporting requirement, but said the additional injury reporting would help the dogs.

State Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, took part in the press conference and ripped greyhound racing in an interview, calling it a “barbaric" practice. He said he wants to see it eliminated in Florida.

“I think that if pari-mutuels are going to operate in our state, they should be able to operate without having to race greyhounds,” he said.

EBRO — The Ebro Greyhound Park averaged one dog death a month in the second half of 2013 and twice didn’t inform the state within the 18-hour mandatory reporting period.

A report, released Wednesday, charts greyhound deaths at tracks across the state between May 31 and Dec. 31. Statewide there were 74 deaths at 10 different race tracks.

Ebro’s death total fell close to the middle of the pack. Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Derby Lane in St. Petersburg had the most, each with 12, while the Naples-Fort Myers track had two.

The report is the Massachusetts-based greyhound advocacy group Grey2K’s latest push to get lawmakers to require tracks to report injuries. The group joined with American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the project and also released a video highlighting the greyhound deaths.

The advocacy groups held a press conference along with lawmakers, in Tallahassee Wednesday. The groups are promoting injury-reporting bills in the House (HB 933) and Senate (SB 742).

“Right now, greyhound injuries are not being publicly reported (in Florida),” said Carey Theil, Grey2K’s executive director, in an interview.

The state requires tracks to report deaths, but not injuries. In other states, reporting requirements have successfully cut the number of greyhound deaths, Theil said.

“It’s just about transparency,” he said. “It’s a basic level of transparency.”

Only two states in the country aren’t requiring greyhound injury reporting — Alabama and Florida. And anytime a state shares an exclusive list with Alabama it’s “generally not good,” Theil said.

He applauded the existing death reporting requirement, but said the additional injury reporting would help the dogs.

State Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, took part in the press conference and ripped greyhound racing in an interview, calling it a “barbaric" practice. He said he wants to see it eliminated in Florida.

“I think that if pari-mutuels are going to operate in our state, they should be able to operate without having to race greyhounds,” he said.

Failure to report

The state’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering oversees dog racing in Florida and in May 2013 began requiring that tracks notify the state within 18 hours of a greyhound fatality.

Ebro failed to follow that rule when two greyhounds were euthanized after breaking their legs, one on Sept. 7, one on Sept. 13. The division did not receive notification until Sept. 17.

Ebro’s president Stockton Hess said he was unfamiliar with the deaths and didn’t know why they weren’t reported within 18 hours.

“I never saw anything on that at all. … They were reported; that’s the main thing,” he said.

Hess said the seven deaths didn’t sound like an unusually high number for the track and said they were the result of euthanasia.

He said unlike horses, if a dog breaks its leg, it doesn’t mean it will be put down automatically. The greyhound can still be rehabilitated and adopted out, similar to less severe muscle injuries.

Ebro euthanizes dogs only for life threatening injuries when the track veterinarian decides that’s the best course of action, Hess said.

“At that point, they’re beyond medical help, and they’re suffering,” he said, adding that it’s in the dog’s “best interest.”

Sometimes the injuries that occur on the track are beyond anyone’s control, Hess said.

Two-pronged approach

Now, Grey2K is trying a two-pronged approach to tighten up the law on greyhound racing. A state Senate panel is expected to unveil comprehensive gaming legislation next week, which likely will include injury reporting. But a large-scale package with so many provisions may fizzle, so the group also will push for individual bills on reporting deaths.

Similarly, decoupling, the effort to eliminate the minimum race requirement to operate a card room, also will get separate legislation, Theil said.

The decoupling bills are expected to be filed soon, even though the comprehensive legislation likely will include the provision.

Theil’s got a decoupling supporter in Gaetz, who pointed out tracks across Florida lose money on greyhounds, but run them anyway to maintain their card room licenses.

Unfortunately when a good decoupling bill arrives, every gambling special interest tries to morph it into something that helps them, derailing it in the process, Gaetz said.

Theil said he wants to cover all his bases because it’s tough to predict the Florida Legislature. He said he’s “optimistic” injury reporting and decoupling will pass, but navigating Tallahassee politics is difficult.

“I think we have majority support for these provisions in both chambers of the Legislature. I think we have the votes. Now getting from that point to getting a bill on the governor’s desk can be hard,” he said.